Thoughtful Thursday: Getting to Know You Again


I did it.

I finished the first sessions in my new room setup, and it is interesting how different things are already, even though things aren't completely organized or settled yet. 
The view from the door

I am enjoying the new, larger space. I think the clients will as well. We spent most of the time yesterday roaming the room and figuring out what was in the cabinets. Group members started on the carpet, sang an opening song with me, and then were given the opportunity to explore the area. There were tables with books and fidgets. There were choice cards for playing the big instruments that are usually kept locked away in the cabinet.
What will eventually be the center area
The big instrument area
The group area - looking at the office door


Some of the clients acted as I expected. Some of them started off refusing to move around the new space. They sat and looked around. It took them some time before they moved around the room, looking at things that were out and available. Some of them took advantage of the freedom from the very first moment, trying everything once before settling on something. Others waited to see what the group leaders were doing and then mimicked them. It was interesting to watch what was happening with my clients (some who are VERY familiar to me and others that are brand new!) and to watch how they interacted with their environment.
The stereo and my cabinet



We spent time moving around, trying things out, and finding our familiar favorites. Eventually, everything will have its own place and things will be running somewhat smoothly.
The office - the least organized of all!
This move has shown me several different things about myself as a therapist. First of all, I do best when I know where things are and how they work. My clients seem to do better that way as well. (That's not a big surprise, but it's good to be reminded every so often.) Also, a new environment makes for interesting sessions - getting to know each other through a new place to interact. It interests me that a new place makes me more creative in my ideas of what therapy can be. I hope some of that enthusiasm and creativity rubs off on my clients.

 Next week? I start introducing centers. Center one is called "Explore." "Listen" and "Learn" will be introduced later this month until they are fully implemented in February. More on those ideas later.

I can't think about this anymore - time to scrape snow off my car and proceed slowly to work on our first snowy school day in a long time. I am hoping that the superintendent calls it a snow day, but who knows. If it is a snow day, then I will get a chance to see all of the residents in my facility in my new room. There will be more exploration, but snow day sessions have their own plans, so there will be less roaming and more music therapy process going on.

Thanks for reading!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dear AMTA

Dear American Music Therapy Association: I am debating long and hard about remaining in this relationship. I have been in this relationship since college, and this is not a decision that I am taking lightly or without great cost.  I am not happy with what you are bringing to this relationship. Now, I have been a selfish partner over the past several years - mainly because I am not feeling like we share a common mission anymore. It is easy for me to place the blame on you, but I know that this is not all on me. I have tried to be invested in communication and support and understanding, but everyone comes to a time where enough is enough. I am trying very hard to decide if the benefits that you provide to me are worth the feelings that I have about where I think you and I are going. I am not sure that our destination is the same anymore, and this makes me sad. To be completely honest, I am only in this relationship these days for the music therapy interns. I don't think that is a hea...
Read more

Songwriting Sunday: Repetition

Image
One of the things that I find to be helpful with my client population (children, adolescents, and young adults with dual diagnoses) is repetition of phrases, lyrics, and music. As a result of 30+ years of working with this population in various iterations, I have found that my clients respond the most to songs with three repeated phrases to prime their responses with a different phrase to communicate the important part of the experience. DISCLAIMER: This is not a definite way to write music for clinical interactions. This is what seems to work well with my particular group of human beings. Don't go to your supervisors and tell them that I told you that this is the ONLY way to write music - It is NOT! You have to find what works for your clients and for their clinical goals. Since my clients respond well to this type of song, I tend to write songs in this format more than any other. What I have found is that my clients remember these songs more than the ones that I do in different f...
Read more

Being An Internship Director: On Hiatus

Image
It has been long enough since I have had an intern that I am seriously feeling like I have little to say on the subject. At the same time, I am currently writing Chapter 5 of my general internship handbook, so I am able to write about being an intern and what types of things to think about during this important time in our professional development. It is a strange place to be in, and it is one that is a bit challenging for me. Right now, I have had three vacant internship positions since the beginning of the calendar year. I will have a vacant position next month and that will be an entire year of rejected offers. In the past nine months, I have offered positions to three applicants who have declined. It is interesting how people complain that there aren't enough internship programs, but programs like mine are empty. I guess there aren't enough internship programs that pay large stipends (which mine cannot) out there. I get it. It is interesting to me how we have moved from an ...
Read more